eShop USA > Books > Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth
Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth
List Price: $44.95Our Price: $31.53 You Save: $13.42 (30%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.8362139810973
EAN: 9780471414254
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0471414255
Label: Wiley
Manufacturer: Wiley
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: September 14, 2001
Publisher: Wiley
Studio: Wiley
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
No matter what happens in the future with the tech sector in general or to Cisco Systems in particular, the company that made the router almost a household name will be known forever as a bellwether behemoth in the networking industry--and one who got that way largely through a shrewd acquisition strategy. Inside Cisco, by veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ed Paulson, examines how the company nimbly absorbed 70 firms since 1993 and, at least until the postmillennial tech crash, managed to leverage the people and technology it added into impressive, continual advancement. "In fact," Paulson writes, "the company has been so successful with its acquisitions that the industry created a new term for Cisco's type of research and development approach: acquisition and development." With an eye toward making this agile, adaptive strategy accessible to others, Paulson analyzes the practice and rationale behind it and then assesses how portable its elements are to other companies and industries. Explorations of everything from due diligence to the integration of personnel, products, and production are supplemented by specific examples, comments from people directly involved, and Paulson's own experienced perspective. --Howard Rothman
An insider reveals the core strategies behind Cisco's phenomenal success
Most savvy business observers agree that the major component in Cisco's phenomenal growth has been their unwavering commitment to expanding their product line through aggressive acquisitions. Since 1995, the "New Goliath," as Cisco is known throughout the business and finance communities, has acquired more than sixty companies. In this groundbreaking book, a Silicon Valley veteran, Ed Paulson, uses his strong connections to Cisco's management to reveal the M&A gospel according to Cisco.
Paulson explores how Cisco has used acquisitions to stay ahead of its competitors, analyzes their strategies and proven methods for incorporating new companies seamlessly, positively, and profitably. Paulson reveals the centerpiece of Cisco's acquisition strategy-one that is company-focused, culturally compatible, and retains staff. He examines how Cisco executives determine if a target company is compatible with Cisco's corporate culture and strategic outlook and describes the extraordinary lengths to which these executives will go to gain the loyalty of acquired people. This book details the Cisco methodology and illustrates how it can be applied to companies across industries.
Ed Paulson (Chicago, IL) is President of Technology and Communications, Inc., a business and technology consulting firm and a visiting professor at DePaul University's School for New Training. He is a Silicon Valley veteran with more than two decades of experience and the author of numerous business and technology books, most recently, The Technology M&A Guidebook (Wiley: 0-471-36010-4).
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - I was one, and it wasn't like that
I don't 'get' why so many people think so highly of this book. I was one of the M&A folks at Cisco, doing mostly A. It wasn't so structured, nor so successful, nor so wonderful. We just did the best we can -- each deal is different.
Nice to have the name, the money, market share, etc. Made it much easier to get an acceptable deal. If I were on the other side of the table, life would have been less nice.
The author's uncritical look at the Cisco way makes me suspect that ... Read More
Rating: - A textbook for M&A managers
Please allow me to disclose my bias... I am a former Cisco M&A, or as Ed Paulson would say a
Cisco A&D (Acquisitions and Development).
And a disclaimer: These comments are my own, and represent my own opinions, not Cisco Systems's.
To position Ed's book, let's first look at the current body of M&A research.
"We know surprisingly little about mergers and acquisitions, despite the
buckets of ink spilled on the topic. In fact our collective knowledge can be
summed up ... Read More
Rating: - Insightful!
There's no reason to beat around the bush: This is not an objective history of Cisco. It is an unabashedly adulatory look at one of the most influential companies of the New Economy. If you're looking for a critical assessment of Cisco's business model and execution, look elsewhere. That does not mean that you should ignore Inside Cisco, however. On the contrary, we from getAbstract strongly recommend this book for its detailed dissection of Cisco's acquisition methodology, from its target identification ... Read More
Rating:  - Growth Through Acquisitions
"To date, your book Inside Cisco: The real story behind sustained M&A growth is my favorite regarding the topic of mergers and acquisitions. I used to work at a Merchant Bank in Irvine doing financial analysis in connection with mergers and acquisitions for a summer and a lot of the work we did involved growth through acquisitions. Your book clearly explains a lot of the rationale behind M&A strategies."
Douglas Lee
Rating: - A detailed look at an acquisition system that worked!
This is an easy to read book that covers a lot of what made Cisco succeed in the 1990s. I liked the conversational writing style but also got a lot out of the content. A solid book that anyone looking to grow their business through acquisition should read.
Related Categories:
| |
 |
